OPAP

OPAP – Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics S.A. is a Greek company organizing and conducting games of chance. It is headquartered in Athens and for many years OPAP was a state-owned gambling monopoly. The company holds the exclusive rights to organize and manage numerical lotteries and sports betting in Greece.[4] In 2013 the privatization of the company was completed through the sale of the State's remaining 33% stake to the Emma Delta investment scheme.

History

In the 1950s, an effort to upgrade Greek sport and improve its infrastructure began. In this framework, the General Secretariat for Sports (Greek: Γ.Γ.Α) was established in 1957. In order to secure funding, the idea to utilize revenue from football prognostics - following the example of other European countries - came to fruition. With this aim, OPAP was established in 1958 as a private legal entity under the umbrella of the General Secretariat for Sport.[5] At the same time of its establishment, a Royal Decree institutionalized the first game OPAP introduced named PRO-PO (the Greek Acronym for Football Prognostics) which was organised along the lines of Italy's Toto Calcio.[6] PRO-PO was launched in March 1959, a few months before the introduction of the Football League First Division

The early years

operating income	€737.26 million

income year	2020

net income	€199.37 million

net income year	2020‡R2R‡

assets	€2.320 billion

assets year	2020‡R2R‡

equity	€754.88 million

equity year	2020‡R2R‡

num employees	1976

num employees year	2020‡R2R‡

homepage	opap.gr

footnotes	source‡R3R‡

PRO-PO enjoyed success from the start. This was due, in part, to strong advertising campaigns. In the 1960s the game saw various improvements such as the paying out winnings for slips with 11 correct predictions. OPAP was present in 70 cities and in 1966 it had reached 795 agencies. During this period, it moved its headquarters to Panepistimiou Street, opposite the National Library. In March 1965, OPAP launched its second game, named "6 from 36", an adaptation of a similar German game, the establishment of which was provided in the same royal decree as PRO-PO. There were 36 games on each slip and players had to predict 6 that would result in a draw with the most goals scored. The game was initially met with approval but its slips dropped quickly resulting in the game being stopped in April 1966.[7]

Dictatorship era

During the military junta period, OPAP experienced impressive growth, helped by the promotion of sport by the dictatorial regime. Agencies shot up to 2,000 from 900 and in 1974 revenues amounted to 1.3 billion drachma, up from 176 million drachma in 1966. The increase in agency profit margins, from 5% to 10%, contributed to this expansion as did the introduction of group systems and the valuable gifts that were drawn (cars, trips etc.) since 1965.[7]

Political changeover

After the end of the dictatorship, the impressive growth of OPAP continued. In 1981 agencies amounted to 2,952 and revenue stood at 7.3 billion drachma. At the same time, the management of its sponsorship became more transparent and was subject to parliamentary scrutiny. OPAP funds contributed to the creation of hundreds of stadiums, closed gymnasiums and other sporting cites throughout the country, while its sponsorship were no longer limited to sport but extended to culture too. At the end of the decade, agencies had reached 4,000 in number and two more games were introduced, LOTTO and PROTO, the conduct of which led to the significant upgrading of the Organization's computerization.[7]

Listing in the stock exchange

LOTTO and TZOKER was launched in 1990 and PROTO in 1992; and followed by PROPOGOAL in 1996. Besides, 2000 was an important year in OPAP's history as Pame Stoixima, the first legal sports betting game, was launched in Greece. This game would quickly turn into OPAP's most profitable product. In 1999, OPAP turned into a Societe Anonyme, under the name OPAP S.A. and the duration of this legal entity form was set at 100 years. In 2001 OPAP got listed in the Athens Stock Exchange through a law, according to which, the State could dispense up to 49% of the company's share capital to investors. Initially 5% of the total stock was dispense and the State proceeded with more stock pack sakes in 2002, 2003 and 2005, with its stake being reduced at 33,6%.[8] In 2003, following a bilateral agreement between the Greek State and the Republic of Cyprus, OPAP S.A. established OPAP Cyprus Ltd, which is primary responsible for the organization, conduct and marketing of the company's games in Cyprus.

type	Anonymi Etairia
traded as	athex: OPAP
location city	Athens
location country	Greece
owner	Allwyn AG (48.1%)‡R1R‡
key people	Kamil Ziegler (Executive Chairman) Jan Karas (CEO)
industry	Gambling
products	Lotteries Sports betting
revenue	€1.129 billion

History

The early years

Dictatorship era

Political changeover

Listing in the stock exchange

Change in ownership

Hellenic Lotteries

Horse Races S.A.

OPAP's games

The first PRO-PO slip

Sponsorships

Athletes

Subsidiaries

Criticism

Controversy

Involvement in Stanleybet shutdown

European Court of Justice ruling

External links

References